Falmouth 3, Westwood 1: Shipped out in semis once again

Monday

Mar 11, 2013 at 12:01 AMMar 11, 2013 at 11:17 AM

Visions of a trip to the TD Garden to vie for the 2013 MIAA Division 2 state title faded from real possibility to maybe next year on Saturday night as the Westwood High girls hockey team returned to the ice for third period action against Falmouth.

Dan Zimmerman/Sports Correspondent

Visions of a trip to the TD Garden to vie for the 2013 MIAA Division 2 state title faded from real possibility to maybe next year on Saturday night as the Westwood High girls hockey team returned to the ice for third period action against Falmouth.

The second-seeded Clippers peppered Westwood goaltender Siobhan Burke with 13 shots in the third, producing three unanswered goals to erase a one-goal deficit for a 3-1 win. Falmouth (19-1-2) advances to the final to face No. 1 Duxbury, which seeks an unprecedented third consecutive Division 2 championship.

No. 11 Westwood, which finishes its season at 14-7-3, can take some solace in another successful tournament run which began with a 2-1 overtime win over No. 22 Concord-Carlisle in the preliminary round, was followed by a 5-3 come-from-behind defeat of No. 6 Sandwich in the first round and a dramatic 3-2 win over third-seeded Wellesley in the quarterfinals before falling to the Clippers in the semis for the second straight season.

“I talked to them after the game and I’m very proud of them,” said Westwood coach Justin DeSorgher, whose team lost a 2-1 decision to Falmouth in the season-opener. “I hope when they get over being upset, they’re proud of themselves and realize how hard they worked this year.”

As they often do in emotionally-charged games of this caliber, penalties played a role in the end result. The officials handed out 14 infractions in a chippy contest that featured no less than a half-dozen body checks.

Early in the third, with the Wolverines up 1-0, Falmouth captain Kelly Ferreira was penalized for leveling a defenseman in front of the net. Seconds into the Westwood man-advantage, however, it was Clipper forward Madison Haberl on the attack, intercepting a pass to the point, and breaking in alone for a shorthanded goal.

Amy Wilson’s power-play goal, from Hannah Ghelfi and Kendall Stouffer, put Falmouth on top for good with 10:29 remaining in the game.

Ferreira added insurance, one-timing a feed from Rachel Moore in the final moments.

“They came out with a lot of intensity and desire,” said DeSorgher when asked about the momentum shift to Falmouth. “The last two years, they’ve been as good as anyone in the state. We couldn’t get anything going in the third. It was a real choppy period.”

Westwood’s lone goal was manufactured by its top line. Seconds after Burke made a huge stop on a breakaway, Wolverines linemates Ela Hazar, Kim Egizi, and Kelly Healy were sent flying into the Falmouth zone and crashed the net. In the midst of a scrum, the puck, along with a pair of Falmouth skaters, ended up behind goaltender Madison Scavotto.

The Falmouth bench vehemently argued that the net came loose from its moorings before the puck crossed the line. The officials, after a lengthy discussion, disagreed and awarded Hazar the goal. Healy was credited with an assist, 5:34 into the second period.

Five minutes after the Wolverines snapped a scoreless game with a disputed goal, they knocked in another that triggered controversy and a prolonged delay. It seems that a spectator blew a whistle, which froze the Falmouth skaters but not the Wolverines. The goal was waved off after MIAA officials agreed with the two referees that a whistle had, indeed, come from the stands and did impact the players.

“That goal would have put us up 2-0,” said DeSorgher. “We were a little confused and disappointed because my team kept playing. But the officials were right. Everyone heard the whistle. We didn’t get many breaks today.”

With 1:11 remaining, DeSorgher pulled Burke for an extra-skater. The strategy yielded a few good chances but Scavotto held the fort. Her counterpart, Burke, drew much-deserved praise for yet another stellar performance in net, making 27 stops and keeping the Wolverines in range when Falmouth threatened to run away with it.

“I keep saying the same thing,” said DeSorgher of his prize goaltender. “Nobody has worked harder to get where they are. She came in as a freshman and I didn’t know what we had. She’s as good as any goalie in the state.”